Sketching Up My Dream Learning Space

Classroom environment is something I have always been passionate about, so I was excited to have the opportunity to digitally create my own dream space using SketchUp this week in CEP 811. Study Shows How Classroom Design Affects Student Learning (Vanhemert, 2013) emphasizes the impact classroom environments have on student success. The article states that, “color, choice, complexity, flexibility, connection, and light” all play significant roles in academic growth. Visual stimulation should be complex, but not overbearing, and natural light should be present in the classroom.

I am currently limited in my ability to dim lights and bring in different furniture due to fire and lice codes. All of my pillows have to have covers that I can wipe clean with disinfectant wipes, and futons are absolutely not allowed because of their flammability. Many of the requests I have made over the years have been denied by the fire department almost instantly. I have worked hard to make my classroom fit the needs of my students, but I am still not totally there yet. Flexible seating is something I have really gotten into over the last few years, but switching to that type of an environment does not happen overnight. I was luckily able to get rid of my desks, but I have to admit I got some crazy looks when I asked! Here are some snapshots of what I am currently working with.

Donors Choose has been a life saver for me. Books, bins and social-emotional projects have been funded quickly by my friends and family. For some reason flexible seating projects have been the toughest for me to get funded. I think there is a large group of people who picture a classroom looking the way they remember as a kid; desks lined straight in a row, a chalkboard, and a teacher lecturing in the front of the room. I seriously can’t imagine teaching my 2^nd graders this way, they would have an incredibly difficult time staying focused and engaged.

Seating was something I really wanted to focus on in my SketchUp model. I love the big cozy pillows in my room for reader’s workshop, but they are extremely expensive. My school only approved the Lakeshore Learning brand pillows, which are great, but the colors are a bit overstimulating. Flexible seating can be expensive, but you can also get very creative. I have laundry baskets tucked away in my classroom that my students love to cuddle up and read in. It’s hilarious!

My Dream Classroom:

Interactive SmartBoard with a less stimulating rug for our meeting area. Tall standing desks for our computer/tech area.

Chalkboard paint back wall for collaborative planning and problem solving.

Large windows for natural light.

Plenty of seating options. Cozy pillows, rectangular floor tables, tall bar tables and stools for collaborative work/connecting, and a futon for a relaxed learning space.

In my SketchUp model I added tall tables, big pillows, standing tables for the computers, floor seats at the rectangular tables, and a futon. I have watched my students get creative with their workspaces this year, and can only imagine the productivity I would see if I had this many options for them in my classroom. In my Maker Lesson Plan I had a station where students were completing their word work with a Makey Makey and computer. The standing tables with computers would be perfect for this. I also added a black wall to represent a wall painted with chalkboard paint. I had this in my classroom when I taught pre-school ant it was incredible. My youngest students grew comfortable enough to invite each other to work on projects together.

So much of this course has been about personalized learning in the Maker World. I strongly believe that the classroom environment is the starting point for making this possible. Personalized learning involves so much student choice, and I don’t think that seating should be left out. By providing flexible seating options my students would be able to cater our environment to their learning needs.

My current classroom has a giant iPad cart hidden back by the cubbies. In no way does this invite students to be makers. I would love to have a tech area like the tall computers in my SketchUp model. Collaborative learning is something we have also discussed a lot about in CEP 811, and the round bar tables in my design would promote student-to-student problem solving. I am not there yet, but someday I hope to be. CEP 811 has helped me understand that baby steps are okay because though they are small, they are still steps in the right direction.

References:

Vanhemert, K. (2013). Study Shows How Classroom Design Affects Student Learning. Co. Design. Retrieved from https://www.fastcodesign.com/1671627/study-shows-how-classroom-design-affects-student-learning

Phonics in the Maker Movement

I have to admit, coming up with a realistic lesson plan for my own classroom using my Makey Makey Go was very intimidating. It took me days just to pick what content area I would focus on! My anxiety began to settle as I starting playing around with my favorite area to teach, phonics. My 2nd graders are so interested in the way words are built this year. They are constantly finding “rule breakers” and marking their words based on the pieces we have learned. This has helped them build confidence in reading and in turn has amplified their decoding and fluency skills.

If you were to spend a day in my classroom you would rarely see whole group instruction. I firmly believe that our youngest learners should not be restricted to sitting on the carpet listening to a teacher lecture. Our Reader’s Workshop block consists of a quick mini-lesson, TONS of independent reading time, and a wrap up lesson at the end. This gives me the opportunity to conference with students one-on-one on their own targeted skills. For our Word Study time block, I keep the kids moving around every 15 minutes working on phonics activities. They work in groups based on current ability letter to be word detectives by manipulating parts of words and identifying rule breakers.

None of this could happen without personalized learning. This week I discovered just how much time I spend assessing my students, and how valuable this component of teaching really is. The groups I place students to work in change almost every week, and I rely heavily on data to build the groups. You can see how I attempted to personalize learning even more using Makey Makey Go in an example lesson here.

Impacts of Technology on Personalized Learning

We started week 3 of CEP 811 by watching Richard Culatta’s TED Talk on reimagining learning using technology in the classroom. The presentation has a strong focus on the impacts technologies hasve on personalized learning, collaborative problem solving and immediate feedback.

I couldn’t help but notice how all of these components are intertwined. Immediate feedback is completely necessary to implement personalized learning, and these two together help promote an environment in which collaborative problem solving can take place. With all of that being said, personalized learning stuck out to me as the most applicable focus for my classroom.

I found two research articles on the impact technology has on the personalized learning approach. The first, Through the Student’s Eyes: A Perspective on Personalized Learning and Practice Guide for Teachers (Redding, 2013) focuses on how personalized learning can be facilitated by technology, and how motivation and metacognition play huge roles in this approach. The article goes in detail about the importance of seeing learning through the student’s eyes in order to personalize instruction.

The second article I found, Using a Learning Management System to Personalise Learning For Primary School Students (Edmunds & Hartnett, 2014), reports on a case study researching the impact a LMS (learning management system) has on personalized learning in the classroom. The paper analyzes data from three primary classrooms in the same school in New Zealand.

Through the Student’s Eyes: A Perspective on Personalized Learning and Practice Guide for Teachers (Redding, 2013) starts out by redefining personalized learning to make it more, for lack of a better word, personal. Redding argues that the traditional definition lacks enough emphasis on teacher-student relationships. Redding redefines personalized learning in a broader sense by saying, “personalization ensues from the relationships among teachers and learners and the teacher’s orchestration of multiple means for enhancing every aspect of each student’s learning and development” (Redding, p. 6, 2013).

Redding then discusses the importance of going beyond the traditional lesson plan to enhance student choice and direction with the help of technology. The use of instructional planning software helps teacher’s manage individualized learning, and internet based platforms provide more opportunities for student directed learning (Redding, p. 29, 2013).

Using a Learning Management System to Personalise Learning For Primary School Students (Edmunds & Hartnett, 2014) also begins by explaining personalized learning by saying, “The most common element of a ‘personalized learning’ definition refers to an education system that focuses on learning which is tailored to the needs, attitudes, and interests of every learner” (Edmunds & Hartnett, p. 12, 2014). They then focus on how personalized learning has evolved over time due to the availability of various technologies in the classroom. The Learning Management System used in the case study made it easier to analyze data from assessments, and in turn helped teachers cater instruction to individual needs. The LMS also helped teachers progress monitor students as they reflected on growth. The research from the case study suggested that teachers were more suited to create environments in which personalized learning was present with the help of LMS.

Richard Culatta’s TED Talk  inspired my research this week and really hit home to me. Culatta suggests that culture and identity play a huge role in personalized learning, and Redding’s theories revolve around viewing learning through the student’s eyes by incorporating their families and culture into the classroom.

Using a Learning Management System to Personalise Learning For Primary School Students  (Edmunds & Hartnett, 2014) connects with Culatta’s theories of technology playing a huge role in personalized learning. Both emphasize the way that technologies can more efficiently produce data for teachers, and in turn can drive more individualized instruction.

Personalized learning places more power in students hands, and I believe this is a huge part of the maker revolution. As I look forward some important questions come to mind. How can I teach my students to be independent enough to create their own learning pace? What resources will be the most useful for my learners? Where do I begin as I plan to bridge the current gaps in my own classroom? Despite the many questions I have, I am very eager to use technology to make my instruction more personalized.

References:

Reimagining Learning: Richard Culatta at TEDxBeaconStreet. (2013, January 10). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://youtu.be/Z0uAuonMXrg

Redding, S. (2013). Through the Student’s Eyes: A Perspective on Personalized Learning and Practice Guide for Teachers. Center on Innovations and Learning. 

Edmunds, B. & Hartnett, M. (2014). Using a Learning Management System to Personalise Learning For Primary School Students. Journal of Open, Flexible and Distance Learning. 

Thrifting With Technology

For CEP 811 this week we were required to get creative with our Maker kits, and it made me feel like a kid again! We were asked to really focus on repurposing something you wouldn’t typically go to while creating a circuit, and transforming the item in a way that could be used in the classroom.

When I first opened my Makey Makey kit I went straight to a hot pink fanny pack. What is more retro than that? I thought I could transform the zipper into a controller, and I spent a huge chunk of time determined to make this happen. Failed trial after failed trial left me extremely frustrated, I had no idea why this wasn’t working. So, I decided to take a step back and do some research on the website https://www.makeymakey.com/. It turns out my best bet was to start simple and go from there. I continued to read that bananas were super conductive…I have absolutely no idea why this is, but I decided to try it out. Sure enough, the banana was a perfect controller. This however was not very creative, seeing as how the item was listed right there on the website for me. I began trying tons of random items as I became more comfortable with my kit. Here are some of my attempts.

Maybe a bolo tie would work? Nope.

What about a cute little Buddha?

The banana worked great!

The dog bowl ended up working the best. I didn’t have to change any sensitivity settings and was floored with the strength of the connection. Now that I had my item I had to begin thinking about how I could use this in the classroom. We are focusing on sound in science right now, and I tried to come up with something that connecting with those standards. I just couldn’t swing it and decided to go simpler. Literacy is my comfort zone, and my mind immediately went to small group word work. Here is what I came up with!

Materials:

1. Dog bowl
2. Makey Makey Go Kit
3. Computer
4. Powerpoint presentation with selected sight words
5. sticky notes
6. writing utencil

1. Create PowerPoint with sight words and enter full screen
2. Plug in Makey Makey Go and make sure the blue light is on for the left click feature.
3. Connect alligator clips to device and dog bowl
4. Grab some sticky notes and a writing utensil
5. Begin! Say, sky write and write the sight word on the sticky note
6. When completed, place sticky note in bowl (this activates the Makey Makey and clicks to the next slide.

This would be a very independent way for students to work on sight word practice, which I really appreciate. It’s important to note that sight words should not be taught in isolation; there are so many components when it comes to word work and sight words should not be the main event. I work really hard with my students on building words and discussing word parts. With that being said, my kids are required to know the 2^nd grade sight word list by the end of the year, so this could absolutely be useful in my classroom.

I can’t wait to keep exploring and add on to this creation!

Elvis and the Maker Culture

When I read in my CEP 811 course that failure was encouraged, I did not take it seriously enough. Luckily I am a trial and error learner, so I truly had fun with the challenge of this assignment. We were asked to create a short video composed of clips found on the internet to portray the maker culture. Before my first week in this course I had no idea what the maker culture was, and I have a strong feeling I will continue to learn more about this important topic. The idea that nothing is truly an original idea is fascinating to me. It opens my mind to think that I could be inspired by anything.

As for using WeVideo for the first time…yikes. I am not one to take the time to watch tutorials, I’d much rather dive right in and give new experiences a shot. Sometimes this gets me into trouble, but I think it really helped me with this assignment. Shortly after I began exploring WeVideo, I decided that I should have a topic in mind before I went any further. I thought a lot about what is important to my daily life, and eventually came to the conclusion that music is at the forefront of remixing and the maker culture. My mind wandered to the King of Rock and Roll, and I began to wonder who influenced him. As it turns out, he was very well known for performing covers and making them famous (Schildhause, 2015). Elvis was a remixer; I couldn’t believe it!

My experiences in a TV media course in high school really helped me navigate WeVideo. I worked a lot with Final Cut Pro, so I had a basic understanding of how to trim clips and put them together. Everything was going swimmingly until I got to the part where I actually had to upload videos onto WeVideo, this took me forever! I could not for the life of me how to import videos, so I decided to take a break and come back in the morning. With a fresh set of eyes I was able to finally discover how to upload videos to WeVideo, and from there I had a lot of fun. I really like how easy it was to input text and blur clips; they made this component very user friendly.

Here is my video. I hope it gets your wheels turning! I certainly can’t stop thinking about the maker culture when I listen to music.

References:

ELVIS PRESLEY King Creole (1958). Retrieved from https://chrisrivard.org/2016/03/20/a-world-created-by-makers/

 Elvis Presley Hound Dog (1956 )(Old Fart). Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/Elvis_Presley_Hound_Dog_1956_OldFart

 Elvis Presley In The Ghetto Great Video 1970. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/elvis_presley_in_the_ghetto_great_video_1970

Paul McCartney Yesterday (1983) Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/PAUL_McCARTNEY_Yesterday_1983

Schildhause, Chloe. “10 Elvis Songs You Probably Didn’t Realize Were Covers.” UPROXX. http://uproxx.com/music/elvis-songs-you-didnt-realize-were-covers/. Accessed 9 January 2018.

Smith, K. (2018, January 9). Remix Video CEP 811. Retrieved from https://www.wevideo.com/view/1051795876

 

CEP 810 Final Blog Post

Before I started CEP 810 I rarely incorporated technology in a meaningful way in my classroom. Sure, I used the SmartBoard quite a bit this year, and we used iPads during centers, but these activities seemed to only integrate technology because of its convenience. I now have a deeper understanding of how to delve deep into technology resources in a truly useful way with my students.

In this course I was given the opportunity to create a sample lesson plan that successfully integrated technology. For the lesson I had students become familiar with search engines and blog writing by asking them to persuade me into getting a class pet of their choice. You can check it out here. Reflecting back now after a couple more weeks of learning in CEP 810, I realize I could have taken the lesson even further. Instead of having the children create a digital blog post by simply typing up their lessons, I could have them create something like a Worlde using descriptive words of the pet they want. I think this would help my students feel as though they can create something that they can be proud of, and it would help showcase the uniqueness that each one of them possess. This change in the lesson plan would help the integration of technology be truly useful, instead of just convenient. This is an example of how I can now repurpose technology in a meaningful way thanks to what I have learned this semester.

One of the simplest tasks in CEP 810 was when we were asked to make a digital web of our professional learning network. Even though it only took a short amount of time, this assignment was one of my favorites. This forced me to take a step back and look at how many resources I have around me, and what impact I can make on my network by trying new things and sharing what I learn. Integrating technology in my instruction used to be a daunting task, but I now see that I owe it to me PLN to take these risks.

I plan to expand my social media PLN by continuing to work with Twitter and by consulting with colleagues about other online resources. I would love to have my students create something on YouTube this year, and I think my teaching team would be excited to work towards this goal with me. I signed up for a Chromebook training this summer, and I’m eager to see where it takes me! I would have never signed up for this training prior to taking CEP 810, but the course was the push I needed to get started on the technology portion of my teaching journey. Here goes nothing, hello Google Classroom!

Image Source

Network Learning Project #3

Hi everyone!

For CEP 810 This week we were asked to post our final NLP video, and I must say I’m pretty proud of what I learned through this project! My initial goal was to just learn how to tie a basic knot connecting a fly to a fishing line, but I ended up stumbling upon so much more information than I initially planned for. I learned a lot about the various materials necessary for fly-fishing, and through trial and error I determined which knot was best for me, which was a challenge I did not foresee before I began!

The Youtube video below was the resource I relied on when choosing which type of knot to attempt.

After a few disappointing tries, I ended up focusing on the clinch knot due to its basic design.

This next video is the resource I played over and over again as I practiced tying specifically the clinch knot.

A challenge I ran into was tying the knot as I watched; it was a strange type of multitasking! Eventually I figured out that if I watched a bit, paused the video, mimicked the portion I watched, then continued playing the video I was able to complete all steps.

Here’s my final NLP video!

I will absolutely continue to learn in this “networked” way, and I plan to provide my students with the same opportunity. This whole project reminded me of my 1^st grade “how to” writing projects. Students were required to teach a skill using only their writing skills, and I think asking them to make a video tutorial would really take the project to the next step. By adding a video tutorial component I would be giving students the opportunity to develop necessary skills they need to be successful in the real world. The 21^st century is so technology based, and it’s time I shift my teaching in this direction. Not only would this add an element of engagement, I think it would be really empowering for a young child to create something so worthwhile.

 

TPACK Activity

Hi everyone!

This week in CEP 810 we were asked to put a variety of culinary tasks in a hat and draw one randomly. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong. The challenge came when someone else had to choose a type of bowl, plate and utensil for us without knowing the task at hand. I ended up having to cut cheese for a cheeseboard using a small plate, a glass tupperware and a camping fork/spoon. Yikes! Check out the video below.

So why were we asked to do this? There is an underlying connection here with TPACK, or Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. If you haven’t seen it yet, I would highly recommend you take the time to watch Dr. Mishra’s presentation explaining what TPACK is and why it is so important (Mishra, 2011). Technology, pedagogy and content are separate components of teaching that should be combined in order to help learners be successful. These components are much more powerful when they overlap in the classroom. For me, technology is not one of the first things I think of when it comes to my teaching. Integrating technology into the classroom doesn’t seem natural to me quite yet. I need to shift the use of technology in my classroom to work for me, just as I did with the inefficient supplies I had to cut cheese in the video. It is worthwhile for me to find a way to make the integration of technology in education work for me, because it can help students delve into deeper meanings throughout their learning. Technology should not just be an added aspect of a lesson, it needs to overlap with pedagogy and content to promote higher level thinking and challenges.

References:

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. Retrieved from http://punya.educ.msu.edu/publications/journal_articles/mishra-koehler-tcr2006.pdf download .pdf

 

 

 

21st Century Lesson Plan

I was required to create a 21^st century lesson plan for my CEP 810 graduate course, and I must say now that it is said and done I am excited to give it a try next year. I chose to just revise a lesson that I already created this past year by adding some technology components, and I think it really enhanced the lesson. I will have my students write a blog post with the goal of persuading me to get a class pet. Initially I had the blog post as the only technology piece of the lesson, but I ended up adding an online research component to take it to the next level and to promote kids to dig deeper into the 21^st century theme.

The students will first choose between a hamster, fish or hermit crab for our class pet. Once they are set in their ways, I will have them use PebbleGo, a kid-friendly search engine, to find 3 facts to back up their opinion. They will then draft out their blog post using a graphic organizer and eventually compose a well thought out piece of writing. After the editing and revising process is complete, the students will type their essay into a blog using KidBlog. This resource is new to me, but it looks very user friendly and offers a 30-day free trial. Essentially, each student in the class is given their own account and once completed their posts are accessible to all students. I picked KidBlog because it allows students to easily share their work with one another, which could ignite some deep conversations and critical thinking in the classroom.

PebbleGo is an easy to use and safe place for young students to research. I think it is so important to teach our youngest learners how to accurately find information on the web, and this is a great starting point. Researching online is a useful life skill that students will eventually need to be active and successful in their communities. The idea that they can find information that backs up their own initial opinions is really powerful for them. I think my students will feel validated in their own thoughts as they discover new information about the pet that they wish to have in our classroom.

Check out my lesson here.

 

Networked Learning Project #2

I am continuing to research the best way to tie a fly onto a lead while fly-fishing. This is something I have wanted to accomplish for a very long time, but I am now remembering why I always struggle to commit to the task. There are SO many components, and you truly have to have an understanding of the terminology used to get a general idea of what to do in any forum. There is a type of jargon in the fly fishing community that is completely foreign to me, and I really struggled with finding a tutorial or forum that laid out the basic terminology in nice way. So, I kind of just threw myself into the resources I found and began to piece things together.

This reflects the type of learner I am, and usually this does not play out well for me. I prefer to just dive right in, and often times I end up wasting a ton of time by neglecting to do proper research or read instructions thoroughly. Luckily though, I caught on with fly-fishing terminology rather quickly this way!

The biggest challenge I came across was actually choosing which type of knot to use. With so many options, and no experience whatsoever, how was I supposed to choose the best knot for a beginner? I decided to Google search “fly fishing knots” and watched a number of videos.

This video has the most options, and explained which knots would be appropriate when. I have to warn you, if you are not interested in learning how to fly fish it will be extremely boring. 22 minutes of just tying knots! Though it sounds crazy, this video was exactly what I needed. I decided to give the “turtle knot” a go and followed along with the video.

As you can see from the picture, it was a total disaster.

(before)

I should have known this would happen. I did absolutely no research on which knot would be the best for a beginner, and decided to just jump in and give any random knot a try. I became very frustrated as I was working through this, and I wanted to give up a number of times. You can’t really tell in the picture, but the line is SO very thin, and next to impossible to work with. After multiple trial and errors with the turtle knot, I decided to do some research in hopes of finding a new approach.

I stumbled upon the Scientific Anglers website and fell in love with the layout. Instead of videos, they have quick descriptions of each knot followed by a simple visual. For me, this is the ticket. The website recommended the “clinch knot” for beginners, so I thought I would give it a shot.

I tried tying the knot using just these visuals, but I needed to go back to the first video for another look. The combination of the two resources ended up working really well for me, and with a few practices I was able to get it no problem.

(after)

My issue here is that I would have saved myself loads of time if I had done the research on appropriate beginner knots before getting started. This almost represents a bigger learning issue for me, and is definitely a learning pattern. I need to slow down in general and really evaluate things before I get started. You’d think I would have learned this in undergrad!

Something I realized over the past couple of weeks is that if I truly want to become capable of fly fishing on my own I’m going to need to commit to a lot more than just tying the fly on the line. This sport has so many variables, and it can be rather complicating and frustrating. I initially thought it would just be simple fishing, but I am finding that I will need a baseline understanding of all of the pieces that work together to create the sport. The lead, the line, the flies, the rod, the reel, the fish…it can all be overwhelming, and I haven’t even gotten out on the water yet! Here is a Boomerang of the flies I have and the reel I am using. These items are both things I know next to nothing about, and I can’t wait to spend a good chunk of my experimenting with them!